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Hi Angus, I have a photo of Mera on my wall and I am trying to think myself fit. I have also thought about placing a plastic bag over my head when at the gym to replicate lack of oxygen! Apart from that lots of red wine - in short supply above Lukla. Cheers Ian

Hi Ian, it's good to hear you've got your heard as far in the sand as me. I've made the error of watching some YouTube clips of Mera, one of which includes the camcorderer saying on the summit morning something like 'it is so cold and I keep losing temporary consciousness - why am I here?'. I've been to 5,897m without issues but this is another c.500m! What about you? Cheers Angus

I will also be attending this trip in March 2011 with much trepidation- i've been to 5780m without much issue & will be attempting Kilimanjaro in Sept 2010 as preparation - i'm more concerned about the flight from Katmandu to Lukla in a prop plane - probably jump started by a ford Anglia!!!

Hi Guys, This sound like it could be Kili reunion trip! I too have been for a walk up an african hill in 2004. My wife and I took the scenic flight to Lukla in Jan this year for walk up to Tengboche. I had not been to Nepal before and nothing could have prepared me for the beauty of the country or people. This time I return alone for something a little more hardcore. I spend a lot of time on ebay bidding for lifes essentials like plastic boots & crampons (not a lot of use in Plymouth). I think the seven month will pass quickly so keep fit and in touch if you have any good tips or questions. Namaste Ian

Jeepers, Ian - I thought my (by the sounds of things, lacklustre) 3 or so trips to the gym and a couple of games of squash a week regime would stand me in pretty good shape for starters! Having said that, the New Year will see me upping the gym visits to 5 days a week, probably including 3 days a week where I do mornings (7.30am on the treadmill - gulp!) and lunchtimes. Err.....it's sooo easy to say it now, but cold, wet mornings in january??? Also, weekends will involve at least one, probably two, 5-7 hour strolls on the South Downs....I can feel the benefit of the 600ft altitude already :-) I hadn't really thought of the rabies jab till you mentioned it - best do some research. Brian, I keep telling you the view from Gillmans Point at sunrise is memorable - you'd best believe it! I suspect the view from the top of the Peak will surpass it easily.....just have to get there.

i'm happy with my regime at the moment but i will also be stepping this up when i get back - squash will take a back seat for the first time in 12 years - will still have friendlies though but no league games - we'll have to meet up regularly to hike the dizzy height of the South downs or Seven sisters (same circuit) - bring on the hurt!!!

hi guys
Preparation has gone well & managed to summit Kilimanjaro from Kibo in 6 hours 43 mins - happy days - will take a week off training to allow my body a short break then it's back to the grindstone - 5 months encounting - i can almost feel the heart palpatations from lack of oxygen already

Well done Brian - I hope you had a good time on Kili.
My training has been put on hold for the last month due to work and holidays.
I am off to Aus for January so prep for Mera could be a bit hit and miss a combo of BBQ and cold beers.
The new training moto is take it when you can and hope there is enough in the tank!!!!!!
Dont worry to much about the flight to Lukla, when we landed my wife asked if we could do it again better than any fun fair ride!
Cheers
Ian

Marti - you must have the core fitness of a mountain goat - i have read reviews & although the trip is rewarding -it will be the toughest thing most of us will ever do in life - this is rated alongside Aconcagua for toughness!! - i am leaving nothing to chance and will train throughout the winter - i am looking forward to this trip with much trepidation!!

It seems amazing that it's 4 months since I posted the first message. Fitness is not bad but the choccies, booze etc over the past couple of days can't be helping. I'll be stepping up the regime in January.....at the same time as you'll be getting into the barbies and amber nector Down Under, I guess. Give our fondest to the Aussies......shame about that 'no ball' in Matt Prior's favour last night!

I've got my boots, Mera Peak jacket and altimeter watch - now on the look out for a bargain Down Jacket on Ebay.

i haven't touched the toblerone's & had a heavy gym session a couple of days ago after taking in only 300 cals & burning about 1000 - not a good idea!!

less than 3 months to go guys - i am counting the hours!!

Ian - not sure if you are aware but the northern summit has been reported to be heavily crevassed so we may have to attempt the slightly lower central summit of 6461m. That may change come march - fingers crossed!!

have invested in arguably the best down jacket on the market - Rab expedition jacket (yellow) - in excess of 400.00 on internet - got it for 299.00 at Theoutdoorshop.com - they are having a really good sale - check it out

Looking forward to meeting you all! My friend John and I are coming on this trip so see you 26 March. The last trip we did together was the Frozen Zanskar in Ladakh (-40 at night, camping...) and those Rab expedition jackets are brilliant, worth every penny, even if you do end up looking like a walking overweight wasp. I have a matching one so we can be yellow together. I am hoping that the 7 weeks walking in Nepal (AC, High Passes of Everest) between jobs at the end of last year will leave me with some vestiges of acclimatisation but otherwise it sounds like I am going to have to step up the exercise to keep up with you all. Not long to go now. (And seeing as it seems de rigeur to mention it, I haven't been up Kili.)

we have someone new to compare notes with. Welcome Emma (and John). The Squashdaddy and I are mates from (yes you guessed it) our local squash club in West Sussex. We've both done Kili (feeling left out?) separately but did 3 high volcanoes in Ecuador in 2009 together. You guys will be the porky wasps whilst I'll be the obese orangutan in my orange Rab Batura - together we'll be the fruit salad mob! I'm hoping it won't be -40, but if it is, I guess we'll have to man up.

No, not feeling left out. After skiving off to Asia whenever I get the chance, that would just be unreasonable! One of the guys on my last trip had the Rab Batura, seemed a great bit of kit. It does get blimming cold once you get above 4500m in Nepal so you will need it. See there has been some comment on the flight to Lukla: it is pretty scary but great fun: we had to take eggs and all sorts on the flight with us and it is all just piled up with you in the middle. Think it should be a great trip.

Well paid the balancing payment now so all systems go. Just been at Plas y Brenin for the weekend doing ice axe and crampon skills, good fun but knackering on the old ankles. It was -10 so good preparation. Hoping it warms up a bit so running about in the evening isn't so miserable and cold. We are going next month, can you believe it!

Yeah, I paid up on friday. Unfortunately there's not enough snow (read, none) on the south downs to do any crampon/ice axe stuff. I've decided outside training in feb is too anti-social so I'm doing my exercise in the gym. Got some plastic boots the other day - not really looking forward to wearing them in. Can't wait to get on that plane!

7 months to 7 weeks focuses the mind a bit! Have just returned from a land down under where the only excercise was walking to the bar for another glass of VB (did watch a bit of cricket not sure if that counts). I am attempting to get the head down and work hard for the remaining weeks. I will work on the old military saying 'pain is good and suck it up'! Equipment wise I bought a new pair of socks the other day to avoid getting cold feet at this late stage. On a serious note I look at a pile of kit accumulating in the spare room and the size of my kit bag and started thinking excess baggage. I look forward to meeting you all and having a bit of fun and a laugh in the hills

Hi John here, Emma's friend. I haven't done Kili either but I did do Island peak in 1993! I have also done the kora around Mt Kailash (in 2007 an that was the trip that Emma and I met on) that goes up to 5,500 M. I did the Laya trek in Bhutan in 2008 (numerous 5,000 m passes) and the inca trail in the same year. I too have been training on chocolate and red wine. I have an older pair of La Sportiva Nepal boots (not the warmer Evo) which I used on the Frozen Zanskar trip and they were just about warm enough. So I bought a pair of La Sportiva Spantiks which I used in the lakes last month and they were fantastic. I have RAB Duvet ( an old one, I forget the model) and a RAB summit 1100 sleeping bag, a real furnace. Bring it on. John

Hi John, you've just put yourself into legendary status. The Squashdaddy and I regularly talk about Island Peak and, having both seen some decent youtube footage of the final haul up to the top, have decided that's way too scary for us. The rest of your CV is pretty impressive too. Sounds like a decent party for this trek - can't wait for the next 5 weeks or so to rush past. Angus

hope the training is going well. if you are struggling with motivation for the gym or just need that extra kick to maybe turn a 10k run into a 20k run then you may want to consider a supplement called NO Xplode - i trialed it yesterday & it is like drinking rocket fuel - the first 90 mins had a mild side effect of feeling slightly nauseous & a slight shortness of breath - much like being on a mountain - for the next 2-3 hours i felt like a 20 year old again & managed to push myself beyond my normal limits easily - just a thought anyway!!

Hi guys, will be there on March 26 unless I get called for jury duty....I've been up to about 5650 m so just a bit higher. Don't know what your guys experience is but the cold seems to be the bigger challenge than altitude sickness (unless you run up the hill) so I've been messing around with mitts all winter and finally got the right combo.

Good to hear from you. I'm humbled by the atheletes here, I've really only been training since Jan though I do regular exercise all the time. No big hills around here to climb (near Toronto, Canada) but we've had a cold snowy winter so I'm hoping hiking in all the snow will have added some resistance.

One idea (I hope I have learned form past mistakes) is to drink Gatorade (or something like it) on the climb. I found it gave an energy boost on a tough bike tour I did last year and it may help stop the water bottle from freezing.

Hi Andrew, From what I have been reading on here, we will just have to tie a rope to Brian (hope your hamstring gets better Brian) and he can take us all up, as he is going to streaking ahead! Seriously, I wouldn't worry, this is my fifth trip to the Himalaya and John's god-know-how-many, and the hare and tortoise analogy is true...on my last trip, we had people who had done Iron Men really struggling, I think it is just the luck of the draw with the altitude and not getting sick that makes the real difference. Really getting excited now, finding it very hard to concentrate on work when my head is filled with thoughts of going back to Lukla, which is ironic really, given last November it looked like we were going to be stuck there and were desperate to get out. On a practical note, is anyone else not on the group flight and going with the Etithad flight that gets in about an hour later? Emma

Andrew, The group flight is on Jet via Delhi, arriving at 2.45pm on the Saturday. I am flying Etihad via Abu Dhabi arriving at KTM at 3.45pm. Have you been to KTM before? If not and are arriving at a different time to us and are getting a visa on arrival, I heartily recommend grabbing the forms for the visa section (you need 2, an A4 one and a little one) and getting in the queue before filling them in as it takes ages to get through. You can get a taxi to the hotel for 3-400 rupees (the proper price for locals is about 200). If you are arriving around the same time as me, let me know. Emma

nice comment but i will be giving this mountain the same respect i gave Kili, Chimborazo, Cayambe etc - will take it Pole Pole.

Never had any issues with AMS but there is always a first time for everything. Did 5 & half hours on 7 sisters with angus on sunday & hamstring responded very well (relief).

Angus & I will be taking a Qatar Airways flight from heathrow to Doha & then onto KTM - so we prob won't see you until the hotel - a few beers may be the order of the day to break the ice (would be rude not to) - looking forward to this very much.

If you want to see what high camp & summit day will entail then go onto youtube & enter Mera Peak into search engine & click on video by Richardtpattison (exactly 10mins long) - looks amazing.

Just watched the video Brian mentioned gets the blood flowing a bit! It will be good to get back in the hills. Spend most of my time thinking and trying hard not to talk about Mera(it can become boring to the poor soles staying in the uk working). I now just want get there and for our adventure to start.

I am flying with Jet from Heathrow so I think it will be the hotel - bar & a few beers.

we booked our flight through expedia & will be taking flight QR8 departing 16.45 & connecting flight in Doha QR350 9am local time. I must have seen that video 10 times - the view of Everest, Lhotse, Choy Oyu, Makalu etc make it all worthwhile. 2 weeks tomorrow - can't believe how quickly it's coming round

Now ridiculously excited! This time next week we will be heading to our various airports ready for the off. Andrew will already be on a plane! Mightily looking forward to a chilled bottle of Everest in the Royal Singhi bar.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to fit my big boots in my hand luggage... Emma

I'm also looking forward to that bottled of E at the hotel, but massively more than that, I am looking forward to taking a photo of Brian (and Minky) on the top with the real E behind his right shoulder!

I've now got all my gear spread over the loft floor........square pegs?! And that's without the loo roll.

Does anyone know the final count on our party - I think it might be 11?

I think it was at least 11 (3 spaces vacant when I last checked about a month ago). It will be a bit of a rush for all of us, wrapping up things at work, trying to cram everything into packs and trying to catch all those connections.

Anyone picking up any gear in KTM? I'm renting (or picking up) a few things like crampons and the jumar. I bought plastic boots here (with rentals its really hard to get a good fit), I'll probably also buy a down jacket in KTM as they sound cheap.

If you click back into this, the forecast has improved for Monday - not sure how accurate a longish range forecast is in mountains. Doesn't matter if it is cloudy, as long as they are high clouds - that is what the guides told us last year. See you Saturday. Emma

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